Ceilings for buildings

ABSTRACT

A ceiling installation for a building comprises an assembly of uprights, which do not form an inherent part of the building structure, beams or girders carried by said uprights and a ceiling supported by said beams or girders. Conveniently the ceiling is suspended from the beams or girders. The uprights may also support wall lining panels and/or partitions for the building. The invention is particularly applicable to false ceilings for shops and offices.

United States Patent 1191 Wells July 16, 1974 CEILINGS FOR BUILDINGS 3,160,244 12/1964 Kushner 6151 52/212 x [75] Inventor: Anthony Russell wens, Southport, 3,503,166 3/1970 Nakazawa et al 52/484 X England [7 3] Assignee: S. Alderson Company Limited, Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Oxfordshire, England Filed: Dec. 11, 1972 Appl. No.1 313,666

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 10, 1971 Great Britain 57397/71 US. Cl 52/648, 52/262, 52/289, 52/484, 52/645, 53/694 Int. Cl E04b 1/24 Field of Search 52/648, 238, 694, 690, 52/262, 645, 263, 79, 289, 261, 272, 484, 475, 485, 745, 284, 236, 92, 93, 126

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Drury 52/475 Assistant Examiner-Carl D. Friedman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Berman, Bishoff & Platt [5 7 ABSTRACT 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 CEILINGS FOR BUILDINGS This invention is for improvements in or relating to ceilings for buildings and particularly, but not exclusively, false ceilings for shops and offices.

One object of the invention is to provide a method and means by which a false ceiling can easily and quickly be installed in a building without material use of a part of the building itself as a supporting means for the ceiling. This has several advantages which will be apparent from the following description.

According to the present invention there is provided an independent and self-supporting architectural interior for a building comprising first and second laterally spaced rows of uprights, H-shaped frames the lower ends of the legs of which are connected to the upper ends of neighbouring uprights of said rows of uprights, continuous horizontal members connected to the upper ends of said legs of said H-shaped frames of each row of uprights, a plurality of girders spanning the space between the rows of uprights, means connecting one end of a lower member and an adjacent end of an upper member of each of said girders to a cross-member of one of said H-shaped frames and to the horizontal member respectively of one row of uprights, means connecting the other ends of said lower and upper members of said girders to cross-members of opposite H-shaped frames and to the horizontal member of the other row of girders respectively, a framework for supporting ceiling panels, means suspending said framework from said girders and ceiling panels supported in said framework.

The expression independent and self-supporting where used in this Specification and in the claims is intended to mean that the architectural interior is independent of the building and does not rely on any part thereof for its support.

Conveniently the uprights are also designed to support wall lining panels and/or partitions for the buildmg.

One particular embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view.

Referring to the drawings indicates uprights rows of which are positioned, for example, along opposite walls of a building to be provided with a false ceiling. The uprights are of square, tubular, or channel section and have opposite walls provided with rows of aligned slots 11.

Pairs of the uprights carry at their upper parts H- shaped frames 12 the legs 13 of which fit, spigobandsocket fashion, into the uprights 10. After the frames 12 have been located at the desired height they are held in position by keys 14 inserted through the slots 11, said keys being notched so as to interlock with the uprights. It will be appreciated that the frames can be held in position by other stop means.

The frames 12 have bolted to their upper parts,.by bolts 15, horizontals 16 which extend along opposite sides of the building and are supported by a plurality of pairs of the uprights 10 and frames 12.

The frames 12 and horizontals 16 support Warrentype girders 17 which, of course, extend across the building from one assembly of uprights 10, frames l2 and horizontal 16 to the other. The girders 17 have on their ends inverted U-shaped members 18 and 19 which fit respectively over the horizontals 16 and the horizontal members 20 of the frames 12.

The Warren girders have suspended from them, by means of wire clips or hooks 21 a framework consisting of inverted T-section members 22 the horizontal flanges 23 of which carry the panels 24 of the false ceiling, Additionally there may be angle section members in the framework which form a surrounding frame for the false ceiling.

Wire rope ties 25 extend between the uppermost members of the Warren girders and the framework 22, 23 so as to brace the whole structure. Tensionin g of the ties 25 may be effected by bottle-screws 26; sliders or other forms of adjustors or tensioners may be used as alternatives.

Conveniently the members 18 and 19 have a part which is fitted spigot-and-socket fashion into the ends of the Warren girders and anchored thereto by bolts or pins. Similarly, the Warren girders may be made in two or more longitudinal sections which are secured together spigot-and-socket fashion or by the use of ferrules or clips and bolts or pins.

It will be appreciated that there may be rows of uprights 10 with their associated frames 12 and horizontals 16 at spaced intervals across the building, the Warren girders being provided at spaced intervals along their length with members 18 and 19 to engage with such horizontals 16 and the members 20 of the frames 12.

In addition to supporting the false ceiling the uprights 10 may be adapted to support wall lining panels and/or partitions for the building. For example, such wall lining panels or partitions may be fixed by means of screws to the uprights.

Since a wiring harness or separate cables can be installed before the false ceiling is assembled electrical wiring is simplified. The ceiling supporting structure or appropriate parts thereof will support such harness or cables which can be prefabricated.

Various forms of wire clips or hooks 21 can be used to vary the spacing between the false ceiling and its supporting structure. Since the wire clips or hooks 21 may be made short, individual ceiling panels can readily beremoved and replaced or repositioned. In conventional forms of false ceiling suspended from an existing true ceiling the length of the suspensions gives too much play for the suspensions to be disengaged readily.

Expansion arising from temperature conditions of the false ceiling is provided for by the sliding of the clips or hooks 21 on the lower members of the Warren girders, by movement of the members 18 and 19 relatively to the ends of the Warren girders, due to their spigot-andsocket connection thereto, and by sliding of the members l8 and 19 along the members 16 and 20.

As mentioned above the beams or Warren type girders 12 may consist of lengths secured together by a spigot-and-socket or other arrangement. It is convenient to have standardised lengths say 8- long. Multiples of 8 can be obtained by securing standardised lengths together. Any length in between said multiples can be obtained but cutting a standardised length.

It is preferred to use tubular space frames such as Warren girders for the horizontals, which extend across the building, as these give the necessary combination of stiffness and light-weight.

Where the ceiling panels lie below the upper ends of the uprights the edges of the panels may rest on angle members attached to the upright 10. This gives a neat join between a wall lining or partition and a false ceiling. Where a false ceiling is required to be lower at some points than at others or inclined, the lengths of the hooks 21 may be adjusted accordingly.

The framework 22, 23 may be supported from the Warren girders other than by the lower tubular members of said girders.

A great advantage of the invention is the speed at which an office or shop can be refitted. The premises can be measured, plans can be drawn up, and the required services e.g. lighting, heating, fire detectors, sprinklers, etc. can be specified. All the necessary components can be prefabricated in readily transportable lengths. Installation can then take place by a single team of semi-skilled personnel assisted from time-totime by electricians, plumbers etc. The premises can then be back in profit-earning employment in a short period.

I claim:

1. An independent and self-supporting architectural interior for a building comprising first and second laterally spaced rows of uprights, H-shaped frames the lower ends of the legs of which are connected to the upper ends of neighbouring uprights of said rows of uprights, continuous horizontal members connected to the upper ends of said legs of said H-shaped frames of each row of uprights, a plurality of girders spanning the space between the rows of uprights, means connecting one end of a lower member and an adjacent end of an upper member of each of said girders to a crossmember of one of said H-shaped frames and to the horizonta] member respectively of one row of uprights, means connecting the other ends of said lower and upper members of said girders to cross-members of opposite H-shaped frames and to the horizontal member of the other row of girders respectively, a framework for supporting ceiling panels, means suspending said framework from said girders and ceiling panels supported in said framework.

2. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein wall panels are supported by and between the uprights.

3. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the uprights have sockets at their upper parts to receive the legs of the H-shaped frames and are slotted at spaced intervals along their length and keys are inserted in said slots to secure the legs of the H-shaped frames.

4. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ceiling-panel supporting framework is suspended by hooks from the lower members of the girders and wire rope ties extend from the upper members of the girders to said framework.

5. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 4 wherein means is provided in said wire rope ties for the .tensionin g thereof.

frames and members. 

1. An independent and self-supporting architectural interior for a building comprising first and second laterally spaced rows of uprights, H-shaped frames the lower ends of the legs of which are connected to the upper ends of neighbouring uprights of said rows of uprights, continuous horizontal members connected to the upper ends of said legs of said H-shaped frames of each row of uprights, a plurality of girders spanning the space between the rows of uprights, means connecting one end of a lower member and an adjacent end of an upper member of each of said girders to a cross-member of one of said H-shaped frames and to the horizontal member respectively of one row of uprights, means connecting the other ends of said lower and upper members of said girders to cross-members of opposite H-shaped frames and to the horizontal member of the other row of girders respectively, a framework for supporting ceiling panels, means suspending said framework from said girders and ceiling panels supported in said framework.
 2. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein wall panels are supported by and between the uprights.
 3. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the uprights have sockets at their upper parts to receive the legs of the H-shaped frames and are slotted at spaced intervals along their length and keys are inserted in said slots to secure the legs of the H-shaped frames.
 4. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ceiling-panel supporting framework is suspended by hooks from the lower members of the girders and wire rope ties extend from the upper members of the girders to said framework.
 5. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 4 wherein means is provided in said wire rope ties for the tensioning thereof.
 6. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ends of the lower and upper members of the girders mate spigot-and-socket fashion with the means connecting them to the H-shaped frames and horizontal members.
 7. An architectural interior as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means connecting the lower and upper members of the girders to the H-shaped frames and horizontal members are slidable horizontally on said frames and members. 